GOP Lawmaker Uses Term 'Colored People' On House Floor In Response To Black Congresswoman
A Republican congressman described African Americans as “colored people” while speaking on the House floor sparking immediate outrage from his Democratic colleagues, The Hill reports.
During a debate over a proposed amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on Thursday (July 13), Rep. Eli Crane of Arizona used the outdated term as he argued against “wokeness” infiltrating the armed services.
Ohio Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty rebuked Crane’s amendment arguing: “I’m old enough to remember when Black officers, when women, were not allowed to serve. You are setting us back. On this floor on both sides of the aisle, we have people of color, we have people who have served.”
But Crane replied that his intent was not racial in its nature, but somehow managed to plug in a reference that most have not used in everyday language in decades.
“My amendment has nothing to do with whether or not colored people or Black people or anybody can serve,” said Crane, who is in his first term in office. “It has nothing to do with any of that stuff.”
Crane argued that his amendment “would prohibit the Defense Department from considering race, gender, religion, political affiliations or any other ideological concepts as the sole basis for recruitment training, education, promotion or retention decisions.”
"The military was never intended to be, you know, inclusive. Its strength is not its diversity. Its strength is its standards," said Crane, a military combat veteran.
"I’m going to tell you guys this right now you can: You can keep playing around these games with diversity, equity, and inclusion. But there are some real threats out there,” he continued. “And if we keep messing around and we keep lowering our standards, it’s not going to be good," he said.
Following Crane's remarks, Beatty, a former leader of the Congressional Black Caucus requested that the derogatory phrase be eradicated from the record.
“I find it offensive and very inappropriate,” Beatty said. “I am asking for unanimous consent to take down the words referring to me or any of my colleagues as colored people.”
When Crane attempted to change his remarks to "people of color." Beatty insisted again that the phrase be stricken from the record and hours later, they were removed by unanimous consent.
Crane claimed that he “misspoke” and blamed his language on the intensity of the exchange during the debate.
“In a heated floor debate on my amendment that would prohibit discrimination on the color of one’s skin in the Armed Forces, I misspoke,” Crane said in a statement. “Every one of us is made in the image of God and created equal.”
Democrats were quick to express their disgust at Crane’s choice of words on social media.
The Congressional Black Caucus said that Crane’s words were "a shameful moment on the House floor."
"Rep. Eli Crane referring to Black service members who risk their lives for our country as 'colored people' is unconscionable," the caucus tweet read. "The GOP fights against diversity, equity and inclusion training and proves every day why it's necessary."
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Texas Democrat said in a tweet, “Rep. Eli Crane just referred to Black service members as ‘colored people’. You can’t make this up. This is who these people are, and who they’ve always been.”
California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff added it was “troubling to watch this roll off the tongue of a Congressman so easily.”
Crane is the latest Republican to be embroiled in controversy regarding race. Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville finally acknowledged that white nationalists are racist after being criticized for his defense of the ideology earlier this week.
When asked about his refusals to denounce White nationalism during an appearance on CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins on Monday (July 10), Tuberville doubled down on his previous comments. After Collins informed him that a White nationalist believes that the white race is superior to all others, Tuberville said, “Well, that’s some people’s opinion.”
“My opinion of a White nationalist, if someone wants to call them White nationalist, to me is an American,” Tuberville continued.
Following his rebuke from other Republican Senators, Tubervile finally said on Tuesday (July 11) to reports on Capitol Hill that “White nationalists are racist.”
“Listen, I’m totally against racism,” Tubervile told reporters. “And if the Democrats want to say White nationalists are racist, I’m totally against that too. … My definition is, racism is bad.”
